News Releases

Media Bulletin - Manitoba

February 26, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine Bulletin #44



It was announced earlier this week that members of the general population are eligible to be immunized, based on age. Eligibility is being expanded again today to include:
• individuals born on or before Dec. 31, 1928, and
• First Nation people born on or before Dec. 31, 1948.
 
The new super site in the Southern Health–Santé Sud health region will be located at the Access Event Centre in Morden. It is scheduled to open the week of March 12, subject to vaccine availability.
 
In anticipation of greater vaccine supply beginning in April, Manitoba has posted a request for service agreements for organizations to provide Focused Immunization Teams (FITs) for vaccine administration across the province. These additional FITs will supplement existing capacity. The posting is available at www.merx.com
 
The federal government authorized the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier today. Manitoba will provide further information and updates on the use of this vaccine in its immunization plan in the coming days, as more details are available.
 
Vaccine Administration 
    
This week, an estimated 1,500 residents in 44 personal care homes will receive their second doses of vaccine. By the end of this week, all eligible residents will have received their second doses, for the fullest protection possible from COVID-19. Data on immunizations from these locations are not available in real-time, but more than 7,300 residents have received their second-dose to date. A final update will be provided as soon as possible. Moving forward, FITs will continue to conduct regular sweeps of these facilities to ensure the COVID-19 vaccine remains available to new residents.
 
FITs are also currently providing first-dose immunizations to residents of congregate living facilities. Next week, they will visit about 120 locations located throughout the province with an estimated 4,800 residents.  
 
To date, 71,469 doses of vaccine have been administered including 42,912 first doses and 28,557 second doses.
 
To date, approximately 500 medical clinics and pharmacies have applied to be part of the immunization campaign.  

Appointments and Eligibility Criteria 
    
Appointments are currently available to be booked in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson.  
 
Eligibility criteria expand regularly and Manitobans should check www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html to determine if they are eligible to make an appointment. If eligible, call (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC). Everyone who calls is screened to ensure they meet current eligibility criteria before booking an appointment.
 
Currently, the average wait time to make an appointment by phone is less than a minute. A call-back option is also available instead of waiting on hold.   
 
Vaccine Supply and Distribution 
   
To date, a total of 108,460 doses of vaccine have been delivered to Manitoba. This includes: 
•   79,560 doses of Pfizer vaccine; and 
•   28,900 doses of the Moderna vaccine.   
   
Additional Information 
   
Manitoba’s daily maximum capacity to administer doses of vaccine is currently 11,759. The provincial target is a daily maximum capacity of 20,000 doses by April.  
   
The vaccination calculator lets Manitobans see where they are in the priority line, based on their age, vaccine uptake and other factors. The calculator and more information about the vaccine campaign in Manitoba is available at www.manitoba.ca/vaccine.  
   
All data in this bulletin is current as of Feb. 25, unless noted otherwise.   
   
More information about the vaccine campaign in Manitoba is available at www.manitoba.ca/vaccine

   
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